My Sweet Valentine
by Hallow Eve
Summary: It's Valentine's Day. What's a Doctor to do? Why, bake a cake, obviously. Rose/10.2.


_A/N:Well, there was nothing really wrong with this fic but it was written quite some time ago and, reading over it, I decided it needed a little work. Hopefully it's better now. Although, reading the ending now, I don't know what I was thinking becasue it's really cheesy. But I'll leave it as is._

* * *

_Alison clamped her hand over her mouth, desperately trying not to whimper. _

_Oh god, he had killed her, she thought wildly. Killed Chelsea. _

_Her legs wobbled and she tripped, blinded by her tears. Pushing herself back, up she ran down the hallway. When Alison reached the door she wrenched it open slipped inside, closing it as quietly as she could with trembling hands. Cramming herself as much as she could in the corner of the storage room, she felt fresh tears course down her cheeks and choked on a sob. _

_Why Chelsea? It was all her fault. She was the one who suggested they stay here for the night. _

_Frozen with fear, she heard the faint echo of footsteps in the hall. _

_She screwed her eyes shut, praying that she wasn't next and clamped a clammy hand over her mouth to calm her harsh breathing. She peeked through her lashes as the door creaked open. And in the flickering light from the hallway saw the glint of a knife...._

"What?! WHAT?! Oh, no, no, no, NO!"

Rose sighed. Picking up her favorite bookmark from the coffee table, one which displayed small kittens staring piteously up at the camera, she marked her place in the book. Setting the novel on the table she stood, stretching.

Deciding to investigate the source of the noise, and knowing good and well who was probably making it, she followed the sound of glass breaking and cursing, and padded into the kitchen. Leaning against the doorway, she crossed her arms across her middle and looked into the room.

Her hand came up in an attempt to smother a laugh and she bit her nail, grinning. Pulling her arm tighter across her middle she tried her best to contain her laughter but failed miserably.

Standing before the stove was the Doctor. A small cake lay on the stove top in a glass pan that her mother had given to her. Whether the cake was chocolate or had been burnt she couldn't quite tell, but judging from the smell she was guessing it was the later. The Doctor hovered over it, his hands clutching at his hair and muttering under his breath.

Hearing her giggles he looked up and Rose lost it completely.

Clutching her sides, she struggled to gain her breath through her laughter.

The Doctor was wearing the only apron Rose owned which, like most of the garments she owned, was a bright pink, with roses across the front and a lacy tie in the back. The Doctor's hair was white with flour and his right cheek was smeared with it. Splattered on one side of the apron was a splotch of red frosting. The can lay on the floor by his feet on its side, making her think that he had knocked it over.

But the best was his bewildered expression. One look and she was grabbing the counter for support as her body shook with laughter. When she had regained her breath and her laughs had mostly subsided to weak giggles she chanced looking at him again.

What she saw nearly had her going once more. His arms were crossed over his chest in an attempt to look serious that only made him look more ridiculous and he frowned at her, clearly annoyed.

The last Time Lord, besides the other Doctor, in all of existence, the one who had fought in wars, had monsters running at a glance, the one who was feared as the Oncoming Storm, had tried to bake a cake.

And failed. Spectacularly.

The thought had her chuckling all over again and she saw him shake his head out of the corner of her eye. Wiping her eyes, she grinned at him.

He arched his eyebrow as he gazed at her.

"Finished, then?"

She took a deep breath and glanced at the 'cake'.

"Dunno. You done demolishing the kitchen, then?" Her tongue slipped out between her teeth as she smiled sweetly at him.

"Oh, now that's just wrong, Rose Tyler. I'm not 'demolishing' anything." His eyes flickered over the cake and back to her. "I was simply experimenting."

She snorted in disbelief. Experimenting, right.

She watched as he ran his hand through his unruly hair, looking somberly at the burnt dessert. Sighing, his hands went behind his back and undid the ties to the apron and, after pulling it off him (which was a shame, Rose thought. If she'd had her cell on her and could've taken a picture it would have made for great blackmail material). he laid it on the counter. Turning back to her, he grinned cheerfully, wiping his hands on his blue jacket and leaving behind long streaks of flour.

"Well, we don't really need a cake anyway, do we? I mean Valentine's isn't about baking cakes anyway, it's about being with the person you care about the most." His eyes softened as he stared at her but she shook her head, giggling.

"But, Doctor. Don't you remember what you told me? What was it you said? ' Oh, come on. It's not Valentine's Day unless you eat sweets, Rose.' It's your own fault!"

And it was completely true.

They had been at the grocery store to pick up a few things they needed, the Doctor complaining the whole time about it being too domestic, when they had passed the candy aisle. The Doctor had then enthusiastically argued with her that they simply had to bake a cake in honor of an upcoming Earth tradition that she knew her old Doctor would have scoffed at. Finally wearing her down, she had reluctantly agreed and he had grabbed some cake mix and the other ingredients they would need. Personally, she just thought that he wanted an excuse to scarf down as much sugar as he could get away with.

Of course, Rose had been adamant that if he wanted a cake he was going to bake it himself. She was going to settle down with a cup of tea and the book Pete had recommended she try. That plan hadn't lasted too long.

"Yeah well, I don't want it anymore," he replied petulantly( at that she shook her head, smiling. He was such a lair) " besides...."

He stepped close to her, invading her personal space with a speed that left her dizzy, his hand rising to cup her cheek, his thumb tenderly stroking, leaving her skin tingling. His eyes were dark and heavy as they bored into hers and she wouldn't have dreamed of looking away even if she could have. She felt his breath ghost over her lips and his other hand rest on her hip, tugging her gently towards him and pressing her against his lithe body.

Desire flashed through Rose with an intensity that shocked her and her breath came a little quicker as his lips brushed against hers lightly.

But wait. Did she really want this? After all, they hadn't kissed since that day on the beach when she had unknowingly made her choice, standing between what seemed like two identical aliens.

"_I love you."_

She had been so relieved, so incredibly happy at that moment to know that he really did love her, that she had tugged him towards her, smashing their lips together. Claiming him as hers.

Finally, finally, finally was all she'd thought as her heart fluttered with happiness and his warm lips moved against her own.

But then she had heard the Tardis fading away and had broken away from him, running towards it, knowing but hoping she would'nt be too late. Her senses, which had deserted her the moment she'd heard his whispered words, returned with a vengeance. What had she done? She had kissed this-- this-- _clone_ right in front of the real Doctor. What was wrong with her? Three simple little words from a stranger, because that was what he really was, a stranger, and she had gone and lost her mind.

Rose hadn't even known if he was smiliar to the Doctor at all, despite his outward appearance and the Doctor's reassurances.

" _I look like him, I think like him, same memories, same thoughts, same everything."_

The Doctor was alien wasn't really the same man she had had chips with after the Earth was roasted. He hadn't taken her to New Earth and lied next to her, surrounded by applegrass. He wasn't the man that had saved her so many times, in so many ways. He wasn't the man she had told she loved.

But somewhere, somehow, along the way, she had fallen in love with this human version of him as well.

Maybe it was the time she had seen him playing with Tony, his voice tender and his eyes soft in a way she had never heard or seen before. Or the time they'd had to run from the security guards in the shopping mall because he'd found out that one of the high retail fashion stores' clothing was made from cheap fabrics and shoddy patchwork and proceeded to announce that, in detail, to the whole store and admitted to her later that he'd only done it because he'd been bored of being dragged to every store in the mall. Or when he licked something just to see how it would taste even if he could no longer tell what it was made from.

Rose had realized at some point that, in some ways, he really was the same man. She even loved his differences.

The Doctor was still in front of her, his lips hesitating before her own, and she closed her eyes in silent acquiesce before pressing forward and kissing him. His hands clutched her closer, his tongue slipping into her mouth to dance with her own. She moaned as one hand slipped under her shirt, caressing the bare skin of her back. He backed her against the counter, one hand combing through her hair and tugging her head back. She gasped as he broke the kiss to trail his lips down her neck, hazily thinking with what was left of her mind that it was a good thing her mum and Pete had gone out and that they were alone. Kissing his way back up, he lightly bit her earlobe.

" Besides...," he whispered huskily and Rose's heart stuttered in way she was sure was completely unhealthy before stopping altogether at his next words.

" You taste much sweeter."

* * *

_Song I was listening to: It's Not About You by Scouting for Girls_


End file.
